brick and tile, structural clay products, manufactured as standard units, used in building construction.

The brick, first produced in a sun-dried form at least 6,000 years ago and the forerunner of a wide range of structural clay products used today, is a small building unit in the form of a rectangular block, formed from clay or shale or mixtures and burned (fired) in a kiln, or oven, to produce strength, hardness, and heat resistance. The original concept of ancient brickmakers was that the unit should not be larger than what one man could easily handle; today, brick size varies from country to ... (100 of 4,016 words)